Out of Time
by Aida
Summary: A distraction for the troubled L&L fans: a JavaJunkie romance, the old fashioned way. Chapter 2 hopefully fixed.
1. Lorelai

AN: A Gilmore Girls story set in the nineteenth century. Sounds bad? Well, give it a try, maybe I'll manage to convince you it's not such a bad idea. Really, the Gilmores and Stars Hollow are perfectly cut out for this era! It's Javajunkie, don't be fooled with the Literati beginning!

A word of introduction from me... This is my first GG fanfic, but I'm not completely inexperienced in that area;) Years ago I used to write Friends fanfiction. Now I'm older, wiser, and with a new source of inspiration:) So, I hope you'll enjoy!

**OUT OF TIME**

The prelude

"_I can't believe you won't let me read this book" Rory Gilmore said, looking disapprovingly at her husband._

"_I already told you, it's nothing special" Jess Mariano sighed._

"_What do you mean, it's not special! You've been slaving away for a month writing it day and night and now it's obviously finished, and yet you won't let me read it! Oh, don't give me that look, I know it's finished, it's all printed out nicely and put in a folder and you'll probably send it to the publisher tomorrow! Without me reading it!" Rory was not giving up._

"_Please, Rory, it's really not that big of a deal." and Jess was not giving up either._

"_It is to me." she pouted. "I'm always the first one to read your work. You always say I'm your best critic! Why not now?"_

"_Because it's not like my other books, okay?" he shrugged his shoulders. "It's different. I'm not even going to publish it under my own name."_

"_What? Why? And what name will you use then?"_

"_I don't know, Kirk Gleason?" Jess suggested with a smirk._

"_Jess! I'm serious! What is this all about? Why is this such a mystery?" she asked._

_Jess sighed again. There was no winning with a Gilmore, was there? She was going to ask and ask, and pout and make sad faces and if nothing helped, she would threaten to scratch all his vinyls. With a nail-file. He knew she wouldn't dare, but it was better to stay on the safe side. It was not a collection to be found in every Stars Hollow household and he wasn't going to take risks._

"_Fine, I'll tell you. This book is going to bring us money. It's just a big sell out, pretty much. After we talked about having a baby, I started thinking and I came to the conclusion that I just don't earn enough to support you and that future baby the way I'd like it."_

"_Oh Jess, but you..." Rory started, but he interrupted._

"_I know, I know, I write books, and they are getting better, and the critics are giving me raving reviews, but it's not getting us money, Rory. My books are not the kind of books that would make the top ten in Andrew's bookstore. So I decided to change that, I'm going to churn out shamless bestsellers everytime I feel we need cash."_

"_Jess, you're being ridiculous." Rory chuckled. "You can't just plan to write a bestseller."_

"_Sure I can, if the Harry Potter lady could, then why not me?" Jess argued. "You think I'm worse than her?"_

"_Of course I don't think you're worse than the Harry Potter lady. Okay, I believe you. You wrote an instant bestseller. Can I at least read it now? Before you're catapulted to fame?" she added maliciously._

"_Well, since you already know about it, I guess you can read it as well. But I warn you: it's crap. It's mush. It's sugar dripping from all the drama. Well, it's just like a bestseller ought to be." he added, off her look. "And it's a romance and it's historical, set in the 19th century and wow, it all sounds really bad. It's your risk, Rory."_

"_Fine. Give it to me." Rory demanded impatiently and when she was handed the folder, opened it frantically. "Lorelai!" she exclaimed. "The first chapter is called Lorelai! Jess, you wrote a book about me!" she looked at him incredulously._

"_Um, no, not really, since when do I call you Lorelai?"_

"_Are you telling me you wrote about my mother?" Rory eyes went wide at that thought._

"_Well, Rory, in some twisted way, I did." Jess admitted sheepishly._

"_You wrote a romance about my mother. Just great. I suddenly feel dubious about my husband's feelings. He seems to have been harboring secret longing for my mother for all these years." she gave him a questioning look._

"_Oh geez, of course I didn't write about her and me! It's about her and Luke!" he explained._

"_What?" Rory laughed loudly. "You wrote a crap historical romance about my mother and Luke! Oh boy, I know you never liked her, but, man, you must really hate her!"_

"_I don't hate your mother, in fact, I made her a very affable heroine. It will be a peace offering more than anything else. I'm sure she won't mind. Luke will, but we will just tell him it's for the money, which we'll use for our baby. That'll work, the family feelings and so on." Jess stopped, suddenly out of breath. He suspected he was always so silent in presence of other people because he used up all his spoken words with Rory. He took a deep breath. "Look, just get some coffee, sit down and read it. And I'm going to sleep, I stayed up last night finishing the book. And I'm definitely not staying here to witness all the mockery while you're reading it."_

_Jess left with as much as a grateful kiss on the lips from his wife. Rory, just as he suggested, equipped herself with a cup of strong coffee, and a generous helping of blueberry pie (she figured Chinese leftovers wouldn't go too well with a historical romance). She sat down in her favorite armchair, squished a little to make herself comfortable and sighed contentedly. Then, she opened the book._

**Chapter One: Lorelai**

Babette was sitting at her living room window, her hands busy with sewing, but occasionally she couldn't fight the temptation and looked through the window to see if anyone could be seen passing by. It was very unlikely, as no one lived in the house next to her and Morey's, and anyway, they lived in a rather quiet part of Stars Hollow. But Babette never ceased to hope. After all, you never knew when something interesting is going to happen. And what would Patty say if she, Babette, missed anything worth interest? No, it was better to keep checking from time to time.

And finally, to Babette's utmost delight, something did happen.

"Morey!" she cried. "There's a carriage coming!"

"Oh?" Morey, her husband, acknowledged, barely taking his eyes off the piano, on which he was leisurely playing.

"It's stopped in front of the Stones' house. Oooh, Morey, it's the same people who came there last week, only they're in a different carriage, of course I would have known them right away if they had come in the same one. Well, they must have bought the house, Patty and I have been wondering whether they would, but I said it was highly improbable. I mean, they barely spent ten minutes in the house and went away. And I don't really know why they would be interested. It's a pretty house, but they look really, really rich. In fact, Morey, they look as if they could buy up the entire Stars Hollow. And they have at least two carriages!"

"Well, then maybe they now want two houses, too." Morey noticed.

"But surely not such a small one! Oh! Morey, believe it or not, but they have suitcases with them! There is the woman and the man who came last week, and a young girl, about sixteen or seventeen. And a woman, in her fifties, I suppose. Well, now they all came in. Do you think they could be already moving in?" Babette now turned to her husband in disbelief, her sewing lying on her knees and long forgotten.

"Why, I have no idea, darling. I guess we'll find out soon enough, won't we?" Morey kept playing, as if his wife wasn't going through the torment of actually not knowing what was going on in her own neighborhood.

---

"Well, I suppose you're all settled then" Emily Gilmore looked around the living room, and then rested her eyes on her daughter.

"Yes, mother" was the reply she got.

"I hope you will find yourself comfortable here. After all, this will be your house now for quite a while."

"I will be alright, mother"

Emily sighed, frustrated.

"I hope you realize we don't approve of this, Lorelai. This isn't what was supposed to be done, young lady. Your decision not to marry Christopher was inexcusable. We should have forced you to marry him!"

"Emily, please save your breath." Richard Gilmore cut in, with a very meaningful calmness in his voice. "She knows all of this. We have had this conversation about a hundred times already. You know she wouldn't be forced. You know she threatened to run away or to harm herself if we were to make her marry him."

"I wish you stopped talking as if I wasn't standing right here" Lorelai muttered and she received an icy glare from her father.

"You are in no position to wish anything, Lorelai. We have already done too much of what you wanted. Marrying Christopher would be for the best for everyone included in this pathetic story, but of course, you just had to ruin it all."

Lorelai didn't answer. Oh, she could say a lot. She never had troubles with talking. But right now, it was of no use. Her father wouldn't understand and neither would her mother. For the past two weeks she had talked and talked and talked until there were almost no words left in her, and still they didn't understand.

"Well, Emily, I think we should set off now. We still have a party to go to tonight." Richard reminded.

"Yes, yes, you're right." Emily agreed absent-mindedly, once again inspecting the room around her. "We'll be visiting you, Lorelai." she said. "If you need anything Helen can't buy here, just tell her and she will wire us. And please, do as you were told. Try to stay out of people's sight."

"But I have to go out once in a while!"

"You can sometimes go out into the garden, I guess" Emily conceded.

"Oh, and I suppose at night, too, so no one can see me." Lorelai added sarcastically.

"Well, if you don't mind the evening air..." Emily replied, not at all jokingly.

"Mother!"

"It was your suggestion!"

"I-was-joking!" Lorelai almost hissed.

"Enough of this." Richard held up his hand to stop the ridiculous quarrel of the women in his family. "Lorelai, we are leaving now. You know what you are supposed to do. Only I hope this time you will actually behave as is expected of you. You have caused us enough trouble and are bound to cause more, please consider this in your further conduct."

Lorelai dropped her head and fixed her eyes on the floor. Oh, how she hated to be humiliated like that. She really wished they would leave her alone already. She just wanted to be alone, to be able to think clearly. To be able to think about anything else then her current situation. But, honestly, she doubted whether that particular wish could be granted, even when her parents would finally do her the favor of leaving.

"Goodbye, Lorelai." she heard and looked up. Her father was already out of the house and her mother was standing at the door, waiting to be replied to. "Please take care of yourself."

"I will, mother." she answered and for the first time that day she felt a weird stinging in her eyes, as if she was about to cry. But she fought this feeling, for even if her mother was now showing any weakness by revealing her minimal kindness, she, Lorelai, wasn't going to indulge in any displays of affection.

Her mother turned with a final sigh, but Lorelai still had a question to ask. She couldn't force herself to ask it in her father's presence, but now she was finally alone with her mother. And she just had to know it.

"Mother" she called out and Emily faced her again. "I just... Can you tell me... what will happen next?"

"Next?" Emily repeated.

"What will happen when the baby is born? What will happen to me and to the baby? You never told me." Lorelai asked, trying very hard not to let her voice shake at the mere mention of the baby and herself in the same sentence.

"We have never told you, Lorelai, because we ourselves don't know it yet." her mother answered after a short silence.

"Will you give it away?"

"Lorelai..." Emily was exasperated. Hasn't she just told her daughter that she didn't know yet?

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to know. It is my baby, after all." Lorelai's voice was defensive.

"Oh, Lorelai, I know it is your baby all too well, believe me." Emily said and with that, she left.

---

"I really don't understand this now. The man and the woman are just leaving, but the girl and the other woman have stayed at the house." Babette scrunched up her nose in confusion.

"Maybe they just went to get more of their things." Morey shrugged.

"Oh, Morey, you don't really think people dressed like this and with such a carriage would be going to and fro to do their own moving! No, no. And they looked pretty relieved to be leaving. I reckon only the other two will live here."

"Maybe they are some relatives of the other two. Sometimes the rich like to do a good deed. Maybe they got this house for a poor aunt, or whoever." Morey suggested.

"Yes, this is an option!" Babette almost jumped up with excitement. "Oh, I just can't wait to tell Patty!"

"And I bet Patty can't wait to be told" Morey smiled tolerantly. Babette was an awful gossip, but... he really did love his wife.

---

Lorelai was only sixteen but right now she really felt as if she was at least ten years older than that.

She was expecting a baby. Yes, she was sixteen, unmarried and expecting a baby. A baby out of wedlock. Just how dreadful that sounded?

She stood in her new bedroom, in front of the mirror and scrutinized her figure in the looking-glass. You couldn't tell yet that she was pregnant. But the doctor told her parents that she wasn't far along yet and she still had some time before it started to show.

It was weird, the knowledge that inside of her, there was a new life growing. A boy or a girl, who would be like her, or like Christopher. But preferably like her, she decided in her mind.

Lorelai had known Christopher ever since she could remember. They belong to the elite families of Hartford, the Gilmores and the Haydens. Two rebeling children, who loved to play tricks on adults, loved horse-riding, climbing trees and playing Indians in the garden, the activities most of which had to be carried out behind their parents' backs. But even to her mother and father's face Lorelai was not an angel. She had a reputation of driving her nannies and governesses away with a frequence equal to her mother's firing the house maids. And that was definitely an achievement.

It was a year ago that the real trouble started. When Lorelai turned fifteen, she was already a very beautiful young woman, with raven hair and blue eyes that could win anyone over. And they definitely worked for Christopher. He found himself in love with the girl who had been his comrade in all his crazy escapades for years. And his feelings weren't completely unreciprocated. The new spark in his eyes, something she had never seen in them before, stirred something in Lorelai, something she couldn't even name. It was the inclination to spend more time picking a dress than ever before, to check her hair once in a while when she was with him, to let him hold her hand if he wanted to.

So she let him hold her hand and kiss her gently, first on the cheek and then on the lips, and she liked it. She felt like a woman, she felt as if she was really adult now and could do whatever she wanted. And that – having been brought up in a house where most of the things she wanted to do were forbidden – was what she cherished most.

And finally, two months ago, she went all the way. She gave herself to Chris. Not that he pressed her to do it, no, she would lie if she said that. He couldn't have pressed her, because they had never discussed this, never planned it. They were just enjoying one of their secret meetings and, somehow, spontaneously decided to enjoy it even more than usual. She knew it was wrong. She knew she shouldn't have done that! Had she thought about it more, maybe she would have decided against it. But Lorelai loved risk. In all their games, challenges and bets, she always put most on stake. She always climbed the highest trees and swam in the deepest waters. So she just risked again, a game to her like any other.

And after all, what could happen. She knew some of the maids were meeting other servants or other boys secretly and judging by their hushed giggles, they did more with them than just kiss. Why the maids could enjoy themselves more than her, was beyond Lorelai.

It only happened once. But, as she reflected afterwards, that was quite enough. She soon found out she was pregnant, the first symptoms appearing so soon and with such intensity that her mother, worried about her health, called a doctor.

That was two weeks ago. When the doctor told the Gilmores their only daughter, only sixteen of age, was expecting a baby, they were furious with her. But they knew there was only one way out of this – to have her marry Christopher. When she insisted on telling him by herself, they agreed, and that was probably when they made their mistake. Lorelai told Chris, but when she saw his face... the look of shock, disbelief and entrapment made her almost ache inside. She knew it was only natural, they were so young and here she was telling him that he was going to be a father. But she knew him well enough to know his feelings and it really, really hurt her to know that he so obviously didn't want the baby, that he'd rather it had never happened between them.

Of course, he did the honourable thing and proposed. She hadn't expected any less, and, honestly, ever since she found out about the baby, she had been going to accept. That was the only way in their society. But, looking at him, seeing him so scared and helpless, she just couldn't say yes. He didn't want it and, with strange relief, she realized she didn't either. He was supposed to go to college, to have a career like his father and she would only be a clog to his feet. Chris was a dear friend, but she honestly couldn't imagine them being married for the rest of their lives.

If the news about her pregnancy caused a storm in the Gilmore household, her refusal gave way to a real hurricane. Her parents were so mad that she thought they would kill her, and each other in the process. Her mother was in true hysterics for two days. Her father barely spoke to her. But Lorelai was determined, and just as Richard reminded Emily that day, she threatened to escape or to hurt herself if they tried to force her to marry Chris. Of course, she wouldn't probably resort to any hurting, but right now her parents would believe anything.

Christopher's parents, Straub and Francine, were probably elated that she refused to marry their unlucky son. She knew what they must have been thinking about her – that she had seduced Christopher, that it was all her fault. But naturally, they showed their comfort to the Gilmores and even once or twice tried to convince Lorelai to be reasonable, in a less than eager way. But when Lorelai proved to be iron-willed, Straub suggested something (not to her face, but she was eavesdropping) that made her glad she wasn't going to belong to this family. He just said that she could get rid of the baby and while Lorelai knew that there were women, and even some doctors, who could do that, she felt sick at the mere thought of it. Get rid of the baby! Never!

Finally her parents decided to go with a different procedure, one, as her father sarcastically remarked, that would be suitable if she was expecting a blacksmith's baby, not Christopher Hayden's. She was going to be sent away, something that was rumored to happen to one or two girls she distantly knew. Everyone was to be told that she was traveling, or that she had to go away because of poor health. But her parents found a house in Stars Hollow, a tiny town she had never heard of before, 30 miles from Hartford, and she was to be placed there. She was going to live there with Helen, a servant who had managed to keep her place at the Gilmores for a record period of half a year and was therefore considered trustworthy (and was now also being paid unreasonably well for keeping her mouth shut). Lorelai was supposed to stay out of people's curious sight. It was better to be safe, even though Stars Hollow really was a dump of which existence not many Hartford rich inhabitans were aware.

But that was all she knew. She knew she would stay here until the baby was born, but what then?

In the past few weeks she had screamed and cried, and thought and worried so much that she was now very, very tired.

And that was why she felt so old.


	2. Into the Town, Into the Town

**Chapter Two: Into the Town, Into the Town**

Helen was, to put it simply, an absolute bore. It wasn't uncharacteristic of a woman working for Emily Gilmore, that Lorelai had to admit, but still that didn't stop her from feeling less than optimistic about the long months she would have to spend in this woman's company. She was nice, of course. Even if she had any opinion on Lorelai's condition, she never let herself express it. On the other hand, she barely expressed anything. She was hardworking. She did everything around the house, cooked, cleaned, she even started sewing the very first evening. But she did all of this silently and this was what bothered Lorelai most. She longed for a conversation, even a most meaningless one, about weather or the price of butter going up again (not that she knew anything about the price of butter, or any price at all). Lorelai had spent her life so far talking, laughing, singing and yelling, if necessary. But talking to Helen was like talking to a wall.

She was no company at all, but Lorelai knew where company could be found. Outside of the house.

Lorelai knew her parents didn't wish her to wander into the town, but she also knew that there was no way she was going to obey them. If anyone could be kept in a cage of any kind, it was certainly not her!

Perhaps Fate wanted to make up to Lorelai for all her recent and upcoming misfortunes, because a chance to make a little trip came up no later than only three days after she and Helen moved to Stars Hollow. On Thursday morning Helen woke up with a terrible headache that prevented that usually busy person from even getting up from bed. She blamed the air in Stars Hollow – there was too much of it, she said. How that was possible Lorelai did not know, considering that Helen never left the house during those three days! Of course she hadn't been forbidden like Lorelai, but she hadn't found the time to work in the garden yet (and it was winter anyway, how much work could there be) and the pantry was full so there had been no need for shopping. And church wasn't until Sunday.

In a weak voice Helen asked Lorelai to bring her water and draw the curtains. She asked if dinner could be served later than usual and Lorelai, whose mind was already producing images of a bird being freed from its cage, had absolutely no objections. Anything for Helen! She assured her guardian that she wasn't feeling hungry (which was true, she had already eaten two pieces of pie in the pantry) and that she wasn't expecting Helen to get up until she felt well again. There was still more of yesterday's pie, Lorelai thought. That was quite enough in exchange for a promise of freedom, even if the freedom was to be only temporary.

Poor Helen. She really should have known better than go peacefully to sleep while Lorelai Gilmore was left alone with her ideas!

---

Babette had waited three days for this moment. She jumped up from her chair when she saw through the window a figure of a young girl dressed in a pretty blue coat, stepping out of the house that had once belonged to Mr and Mrs Stone.

Babette dashed to her own door, not even bothering to dress properly for the cold February weather and overturning one chair and an umbrella stand in the process. How lucky her beloved cat wasn't in the way in that crucial moment!

She opened the door and stumbled into the porch, waving her hand at the girl.

"Hello!" she exclaimed, loudly enough for the entire county to hear her.

"Hello!" the girl greeted her back with a smile that, in Babette's opinion, would give Rachel, the town beauty, a run for her money.

"I'm so happy to finally meet my new neighbor!" Babette gave way to her satisfaction. She took a few steps forward. So did the girl and they met halfway on the lawn. "I haven't seen you or your mother go out yet."

"Well, that's because we haven't gone out yet," the girl smiled again.

"I know, that's why I haven't seen you, right?" Babette explained, unconsciously revealing that she had spent the past few days waiting for someone to appear on the porch of the neighboring house, and begging Morey to take her place if she needed to do something really important in the house. Oh well, Stars Hollow was a small town. Only few people ever moved here and the only new residents were usually the newborn babies. "I'm Babette Dell," she introduced herself. "And you're...?" she prompted eagerly, if not very politely. But this isn't Versailles, she thought.

"And I'm Lorelai Gilmore," the girl answered. "And I'm very pleased to meet you, Mrs Dell."

"Oh, no, just call me Babette! No one calls me Mrs Dell, I wouldn't probably know who you were talking to if you started calling me that now," Babette laughed. "It would be like calling Kirk Mr Gleason!"

"Alright... Babette."

"So... you're going for a walk?" Babette inquired.

"Yes, actually I am. I'm dying to explore the town a little," Lorelai explained.

"Is your mother going with you?" Babette asked, sneaking a glance over Lorelai's shoulder, half expecting to see the other woman on the porch already.

"Oh, no, Helen's in bed with a headache. And... she's not my mother," she added truthfully. She didn't know what was the version Helen would rather tell, but Helen wasn't here and Lorelai just went with the truth.

"No? Aunt, then?" Babette kept guessing.

"No, no, we're not related at all," Lorelai shook her head. "She's just taking care of me while we're living here."

"Oh, I'm sorry, have I just committed a terrible blunder? Asking if she was family? I mean, it would definitely be an awful faux pas if you happen to be one of those poor kinless creatures," Babette blushed.

"What? Oh no, my parents are very much alive, let me assure you. They just thought I needed a little change of surroundings." That wasn't completely untrue, was it?

"And where was it that you lived before?" Babette pressed on.

"I lived in Hartford," Lorelai replied.

"In Hartford! I've been there a few times, what a beautiful town it is. No better than Stars Hollow, though," she added loyally. "But you must feel like you'll be really bored here after living in Hartford?"

"Oh, no, I'm not afraid of boredom," Lorelai laughed. "I'm sure I'll love Stars Hollow."

"Oh, sugar, I'm sure you will!" Babette exclaimed enthusiastically. This Lorelai was really nice. There was a lot more Babette would love to know about her and that Helen as well, but she finally decided that it was enough for a first time. It would do no good to scare Lorelai away with nosiness. And if Babette was to be completely honest with herself, the lack of an overcoat was beginning to be a little more than noticeable to her in the cold wind and despite all her hunger for gossip she really was not all that keen on catching pneumonia. So she winked at Lorelai. "But to love Stars Hollow you have to see some of it! So go now, go and explore just like you wanted, I don't want to stop you!"

And so Lorelai went.

---

So this is Stars Hollow, Lorelai thought as she stood in one corner of the town square, with a perfect view to the rest of the town's heart. It wasn't very big, but rather picturesque. There was a lovely gazebo in the middle, almost inviting people to sit inside it, and the square was branching out into narrow streets, just as well-maintained as the square itself. Even in February, when there were no flowers, no green leaves to make everything look joyful, the town was full of a heartwarming charm.

There was a variety of shops scattered around the square: a hardware store, a bookstore, a soda shoppe and a store that looked like one where you could buy everything and anything, boasting a colorful sign that read 'Taylor Doose's'.

Yes, that was the one she would go into. Thankfully she had put a few coins in the pocket of her coat before she left the house. She would buy something... something like ribbons. Or stationery.

She made for the store, still looking around curiously, thinking she wasn't even seen by anyone, as the square looked deserted (in reality, she was being observed by three people, one of whom was actually taking notes – one of Miss Patty's pupils had cancelled their piano lesson and she was now free to indulge in her favorite pastime).

Lorelai stepped into 'Taylor Doose's', but as soon as she opened the door she realized she had just walked on a conversation that was presumably not the usual talk exchanged between the customer and the salesman.

"I didn't come here to be scolded, Taylor! I'm not exactly a ten year old child anymore!" A young man, about twenty years old, shouted at another man, who was standing behind the counter, and who was obviously Taylor Doose himself.

"Well, Luke, I know that, but your stubborness just calls for a reaction..." Unlike Luke's, Taylor's voice was very composed and a little ironic. He gave Lorelai an apologetic look, as if he wanted to say he wasn't responsible for an attack of a lunatic.

"Stubbornes? My stubborness? If you hadn't been pestering us about the decorations for the past two weeks, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now!" Luke was fuming.

"We also wouldn't be having it if you and your father had agreed to put them up," Taylor pointed out smugly.

"We run a hardware store! We're not going to hang paper ornaments just to appease you!" Luke was apparently frustrated and on the point of a true explosion.

"Please, calm down, Luke. A lady is listening, if you haven't noticed that yet," Taylor said and Luke turned his head to Lorelai, looked her up and down and not missing a beat reversed his attention to Taylor.

"I don't care who's listening, Taylor. You know perfectly well I didn't come here to discuss your ridiculous ideas about decorating the town. The town is fine as it is. All I want from you is to stop coming and irritating my father."

"About the decorations?"

"Yes!"

"But you said it wasn't about the decorations, Luke." Taylor smiled innocently. Lorelai giggled, but either Luke was not paying any attention to her and didn't hear anything or he just didn't care about her reactions, because he still concentrated solely on Taylor.

"Taylor! Please, this is basic politeness I'm asking. My father is sick, you know that. Everybody knows that. He needs his peace, the doctor said so. And he's had anything but peace recently, what with Liz and everything..."

"Well, about that..." the shopkeeper tried to cut in.

"We're not discussing Liz again, Taylor. She's gone and no threat to your precious town's morality." This time Luke's voice was even more serious than before and held a warning that Lorelai did not understand. She felt a shiver go down her spine. Who was Liz and why the mention of her name made Taylor tense and Luke clench his fists?

"Well..." Taylor trailed off, for the first time looking actually a little intimidated.

"As I was saying," Luke continued, "my father needs peace. Your constant nagging about lawns, decorations and re-enactions are not helping him! We repainted the store when you asked us in autumn, but obviously, that wasn't enough for you. You always come up with something new to torment us with. You need to stop that!"

"But he always took part in the re-enactions! This was the first time he refused, and honestly, we all felt extremely disappointed," Taylor shook his head to show just how disappointed he was himself.

"Taylor... He was in bed with high fever, you couldn't have possibly wanted him to participate."

"Only for a while!" Taylor exclaimed in defense.

"Enough! Don't let me catch you anywhere near our house, or I swear I'll..." Luke checked himself in time as he glanced at Lorelai, as if really acknowledging her presence for the first time.

"But Luke, I live four houses away from you, how am I supposed to stay away?"

"I don't know, but you seem to be very resourceful, so you'll come up with something. Use the back door, come home after dark only, or if nothing else comes to mind, move! To the west coast, preferably!" Luke turned to leave and made a few steps for the door, but he suddenly stopped and faced Taylor again. "And sending Kirk as a messenger is not an option either!"

Taylor's eyes followed Luke as he left for good this time and as the door closed with a loud thud, he looked at Lorelai and shrugged his shoulders.

"He is quite a troubled young man, that one. And he seems to believe that all hardware store owners have this secret code forbidding them to take part in the process of a town's beautification. But he does keep his lawns in perfect state, I have to give him that. I don't know why he said I kept nagging him about the lawns. I don't. They are just fine. Very unfair of him. But that's Luke Danes for you."

"He owns the hardware store?" she asked. It was as good a topic as any other. She was determined to get acquainted with the town and there was no better time than the present.

"Oh, yes. Well, his father does, but really, it's Luke who runs it now. William is sick, he's been sick for months and none of us has much hope for his recovery, except for Luke. He literally worships his father."

"Oh," was all Lorelai could say. She couldn't imagine worshipping her father. It was easier to imagine she could worship her father's butler, really. At least he was nice to her and he used to give her candy when she was a little girl. Or the gardener – she sometimes heard him sing while he was working. If he liked singing, he had to be nice, too. Anyone but her father, that was the bottom line. "That must be really hard for him," she added.

"It is, but he really doesn't have to run around town yelling at people, does he?" Taylor remarked in a hurt voice, making it rather clear that by people he meant his own dignified persona. "And he says I'm giving him trouble! Me! He seems to have forgotten all the sleepless nights that horrid Liz gave me."

"Liz?" Lorelai chanced a question.

"Well, Liz, his sister," Taylor replied, sounding as if this was obvious. And then it seemed to dawn on him that it wasn't, because he cleared his throat and said, suddenly very official "Anyway, young lady, I don't believe we have met yet."

"No, no, we haven't, I have just moved here a few days ago," Lorelai explained.

"Alone?" he asked suspiciously.

"Of course not. With a very responsible, very grown up lady," she answered with a serious expression, trying not to laugh.

"Well, she doesn't seem to be very responsible to me. Neither of you have signed up at the magistrate yet," Taylor said sternly.

"I didn't know we were supposed to sign up anywhere," Lorelai shrugged.

"You have lived here for a while without signing up, without the mayor knowing about two new residents of Stars Hollow, that's not a very good start for you, is it?" he raised his eyebrows disapprovingly.

"I think the mayor will forgive us," Lorelai laughed.

"Don't be impertinent, young lady, this is no laughing matter. Just so you know, the mayor is standing right in front of you and let me tell you, he is not known for forgiving easily."

"Oh well, if that's the case..." Lorelai muttered, suddenly feeling annoyed.

"It is, it is the case. Please tell... whoever this lady is to pay me a visit in my business hours to take care of all the necessary formalities. A letter of recommendation from your previous abode would be more than welcome also," he recited.

"Why on earth would you need a letter of recommendation?" Lorelai was truly confused.

"It's the nineteenth century, young lady. All kinds of vagabonds and rascals are traipsing around and I'm certainly not going to let any of them into my town!" Taylor seemed disgusted with the mere idea of anyone so disrespectable daring to come and tarnish Stars Hollow's reputation.

"Do I really look like a vagabond to you?" she asked with an amused twinkle in her eyes. "I admit this coat is from last season, but..."

"Are you questioning my methods of running this town, young lady? Really, the lack of respect for the authorities is shockingly low nowadays. If you were my daughter, I would teach you your priorities, young lady," Taylor assured, going as far as shaking his finger at Lorelai.

"It's Miss Gilmore for you, Mr Doose," Lorelai said proudly and turned to leave holding her head as high as she possibly could, forgetting that she had intended to buy ribbons. Or stationery.

---

It can't be said that Lorelai was very much surprised that on approaching her house she was once again greeted by her friendly neighbor Babette Dell. But it also can't be said that she minded Babette's apparent curiousity. It was well-meant, Lorelai knew it. And Babette seemed to truly like her, both her eyes and smiles giving off no signs of falsehood.

"Hello again, sugar! How did your exploration go?" Babette inquired merrily, stepping down from her own porch.

"Not at all bad, Babette. Although I do believe I have managed to make one enemy already and him being the mayor himself!" Lorelai giggled. "I suppose I'm in trouble now."

"Oh, Taylor, " Babette waved her hand dismissively. "Who isn't his enemy? He's crazy, that man. I only wish we had known that when we first elected him town's mayor. Now everyone is afraid of him and he will be probably re-elected till the end of the world," she finished gloomily.

"What did you do to anger him anyway?"

"Oh, it seems that Helen and I should have signed up as new residents as soon as we passed the sign that says Stars Hollow." Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"You better do that soon, sugar, I don't even want to tell you what happened to the last person who neglected this," Babette shuddered.

"This seems to be quite a quarrelsome town," Lorelai reflected. "I walked on Taylor and someone named Luke having a heated argument."

"Now, what did Taylor want from Luke again?" Babette furrowed her brows with a grave look.

"No, it was Luke who wanted something from Taylor. To stop intruding on him and his father."

"And that is the best piece of advice Taylor has been given in a long, long time," Babette sighed. "He's the definition of an intruder. Intruding was what drove poor Liz out of Stars Hollow. That girl was not a saint, but she was one of us!"

"Liz is Luke's sister?" Lorelai asked, remembering the scrap of information Taylor had given her. Babette nodded her head in response and Lorelai inquired further. "What happened to her?"

"Oh well," Babette's cheeks reddened slightly. "It's really not my business, you know. If we had remembered it was none of our business she would still be here. But let's just say it wasn't anything that should happen to a respectable girl," she whispered conspirationally.

Lorelai's heart skipped a beat. Could it be...?

"This family has gone through a lot. Margaret Danes died when Luke and Liz were still very little and now poor William as well won't be gracing this world with his presence for long. And he's a good man, better than Taylor could ever wish to be. And Luke is a chip off the old block. He is really the most promising man amongst all these youngsters here. Hard-working, trustworthy and, let's not fool ourselves, sugar, very, very good-looking. You know, if he wasn't already engaged to Rachel, I would strongly recommend that you keep your eye on him," Babette gave a suggestive giggle. "But he's taken, so my suggestion would be Max Medina, at least if you're into the smart kind. He's been a teacher here since September and all the girls are dying to get as much as a glance from him. The one that he walks home after church becomes the heroine for the entire following week. But you," Babette looked at Lorelai admiringly, "would have him chained in no more than a month."

Lorelai just smiled uncomfortably and blushed as Babette went on talking about her prospects for getting hold of a decent husband in Stars Hollow. The older woman probably credited this to the girl's shyness, but that was naturally not the reason. Lorelai's state effectively prevented her from considering herself available for courtship of any kind. She knew that for years to come, no one would deem her a good match unless she did what her parents probably wanted her to do, that is give up the baby. But for now, she didn't want to tell Babette just why she wasn't going to encourage either the local teacher or anyone else to take interest in her. After all, she would find out by herself soon enough.

---

Lorelai quietly sneaked into the house, took off her coat and crept into the living room. Everything was quiet and there was no sign of Helen running around and searching frantically for her. She was probably still asleep, after all Lorelai hadn't been gone all that long.

The trip was an absolute success, she decided with a smile playing on her lips. The chatty Babette, nosy Taylor and Luke who was so attached to his father that he yelled at the town's mayor – she already knew three of the townspeople. And there were those mentioned: Rachel, Kirk, Max Medina and of course the mysterious Liz. Quite a bunch. This town was certainly interesting.

Babette's chattines was going to be a problem, though. She would undoubtedly tell Helen about her talks with Lorelai as soon as she met her, just for the sake of it. And Taylor? He might mention something, too. But maybe that was for the best. It wouldn't be fair (or reliable) to depend on Helen's headaches to take part in the town's life, so something had to be done. Blackmail? Bribery? That question was still open to discussion. But Helen had to know and to give her consent, one way or another.

And Lorelai was going to go into the town, to sit in the gazebo, eat ice-cream in the soda shoppe and exchange gossip with Babette. She was going to make the town like her and not reject her even when her delicate state became visible. She so desperately needed for someone not to reject her!

But first of all, she was going to find out about Liz and what happened to her. Because if it was what she thought it was, this entire idea of making the town like her was, frankly, rather pointless.


End file.
